Hidden

Beheading Gumbo

“Madam…my love.” Tom said with an expression he could not define. He did not know it was expressed happiness, astonishment or disappointment. “Shaft is standing here.”

“I know. Shaft will understand that I fell in love with a man who is capable of taking care of the empire because I can’t do it all alone.” She turned at Shaft. “It is nice to see you again, Shaft.”

Shaft bowed in awe.

“Thank you, madam. I hope you had a safe journey.”

“Yes Shaft. There was a little storm anyways but it was not so threatening. It feels nice to feel the air of Dransvalle again after two ling months. How are your boys?”

“Very good, madam.” Shaft said. “I will be outside, madam in case I am needed.”

“Yes, I will need you Shaft. I just want to say a word or two to my love.”

“Very good, madam.” Shaft went out.

Isabella smiled and hugged Tom.

“I am sorry I said all of that in front of him.” She said. “He knows and I missed you so much I just could not wait.” She began to caress him. “What is going on? It looks like a celebration is going on. I see people well dressed and you –you look like someone going to meet the king’s daughter...” she chuckled. “But there is no need of that because your princess is here. That reminds me. I left the kids in Fishtown.”

“Why?”

“We need to enjoy our honeymoon. They will be there for six months. Then I will be pregnant...Oh my God! I can’t wait to carry your child.” She kissed him.

He smiled and reminded himself that this was Isabella, the most sensitive woman he ever met. She may detect is lackadaisical approach. He kissed her back but felt as if Rose was watching them and that made him felt guilty.

“I missed you my love.” He said, feeling the words burn his lips as he said them. “I missed you so much I still can’t believe you are here with me.”

“Awwnn..now you make feel guilty for leaving you out here alone for sisty days.”

“I forgive fate.” He said. “How was your stay over there?”

“Filled with emptiness and cravings. I survived only by the memories of our love making and kisses. But I could not take it anymore. I don’t care what anyone would say. I have mourned Wellington and it over. The new world begins. I mean a new chapter.”

“Same here my love.”

She began to pul off her clothes.

“I need a welcome back session my love.”

He froze and it was obvious. She felt his rigidity.

“What is wrong my love.”

He let her go. He could imagine Rose standing in front of him. The poor girl would all dressed up now, waiting to get married to him in the next sixty minutes and the devil was back. He turned and backed her.

“I can’t make love to you.”

“Why?”

“I have repented. It is unlawful to have s*x with a woman that is not legally married to you. I have being reading the Bible and the holy spirit got into me.”

“Ohhhh, I am happy this is happening when Wellington is gone and I am single. I understand that my love.” She walked to him and turned him around.

“Then we will get married today. I will send for the Priest and will gather everyone in the house to witness this.”

He frowned.

“Today? Is that not strange. We need arrangements.”

“The most important thing is the marital rites. The celebrations can go on later. We will be pronounced as husband and wife. I will get a servant to call the priest. Besides, I do not need too much publicity. We have over two hundred workers in this house so they are enough to witness the rite. The king will be informed later and of course there will after party in a fortnight.”

“That is great but there is something I must attend to.”

“What is it?”

“I just receive a news that one of my- our slaves is being sentenced to death and I must appeal.”

“Who and why?”

He told her about Gumbo and Gwen.

****** 

Abel rode the horse with a high speed. He got to their cabin and alighted. He half ran to inside and met some women decorating Rose’s hair.

“Rose, I must speak with you.”

“Come on Abel, you can’t barge in call the bride like that.” An elderly woman said. “What is wrong with the kids these days? They don’t respect culture anymore.”

“You should be ashamed of yourself young man. It is her day and no big brother commands.” Another woman said.

‘I am sorry nut it is a matter of emergency.” He said and they noticed the expression on his face.

“What is going on here?”Stephen asked.

“And the father of the bride is also here. You men should leave. She is still feeling shy.”

“Come here, Rose.”

“May you excuse us for a second please.”Stephen said politely.

‘It is a second already.” A woman said.

“I meant five minutes.” Stephen said.

“Ohhh, okay.” The women left the room and the three of them were left alone.

“Isabella is back.” Abel announced.

Rose nearly fainted.

****** 

Professor Harry sat in his car which was pulled up at the end of Lavory Street. It was drizzling and he wondered if Ken would make.

Then he saw Ken’s car pull up besides his. He came out of the car and entered his to sit on the passenger’s seat.

‘It’s a rainy day, Prof.”

“It is. I thought you would not make it.”

Ken chuckled.

“If you knew the magnitude of what is going on here, you would expect me even if it rains fire.”

“Now I am very curios.”

Ken removed a file from a waterproof envelope.

“My private detective found something. I did not inform you because that was just the first step. On the night the boys were killed, they had gone to a party. After a meticulous and intensive investigation, we found a suspect. This boy...”

He opened the file and Lucas picture was printed on a pi paper.

“Lucas Hummers, a genius and what they called a nerd. He is always bullied and has a girl friend they consider too hot for him. There is no evidence to link him to the murder but I know things the police don’t know.

From the ashes with shiny particles, I guess I am the only one who suspected dragon fire and that is because of a secret we have kept. I am afraid Professor, I am revealing a top secret to you and I hope I am not making a mistake. I know we all know the stories about Salvar

Benedict and  Fell Amadon but what I read from history books are not complete and accurate. Tales pass from one generation to another and along the line gets adulterated. But with well documented books, the answers are accurate.”

Harry nodded.

“Salvar fell and Fell rose but Fell’s greatest regret was he was not recognized like Salvar was revered. They never celebrated Fell’s day and that is not fair. We all know that Roots are the most effective ancestry investigators in the world. You may think I am not  making any sense or my words do not have a direction but you will put the pieces together.

Firstly, let me tell you who I am. I am not just Ken Riggs but my lineage is traced directly to Sir Fell Amadon.”

“Whoa!”

“And    due to our family importance, history had been n very important to us and the tales passed from one generation to another. Like all families, there are always black sheep so in 1948, one of my uncles sold the broken sword to a man who sold it the national museum. It was sold for sixty million dollars.”

“The broken sword of Fell.”

“Yes. He used the sword to stab the black dragon which history claimed  Salvar alone killed and the dragon chewed up the remaining part. Fell carried the broken sword for the rest of his life and it passed from one generation to another until it was sold.”

“How did you get this part of the story? Family tales?”

“No and that is why I need you to do something that will make you famous.”

“What?”

“I found a book written by Fell’s secretary Theodore Manuel in my grandfather’s collections. It is dated to the sixteenth century.”

“Oh my God!”

“You will discover it and proof that Salvar was a fraud and my ancestor was the real hero.”

“Are you saying Salvar did not kill the dragon?”

“He did because he committed suicide by blowing himself up with the dragon but Fell took a part in the killing and Salvar did not kill it as a hero but as a coward.”

“Why?”

“He was a traitor and thief.”

“Do you know what you are talking about?”

“That is why w have proves. You will go through the details.”

“And how will I discover it when your family had it.”

“It was a secret collection and no one knows about it. I don’t know how my grandfather found it but he was an archeologist but never announced his finding which involved the family. I was told he spent years in Europe exploring. I believe he found this and kept it a secret.”

“Why?”

“Because he found other secrets.”

“So how am I going to discover this?”

“You will claim you found it buried in a silver box.”

“There will be verification and it won’t work.”

“The book is not a fake. Let them verify. Carbon dating or whatever method they want to use. That is about five hundred years old. The only thing that is not true is the discoverer.”

“Why are you doing this? This will propel me to lime light and I don’t know why you decide to do this.”

“We all have things to gain. My ancestry name will be redefined and Salvar’s name will be stained for life. It was stained since the Salvar day was stopped but not everyone believed my ancestor. But there is more...”

“What is that Ken?”

“That brings us to this boy here, Lucas. He is a native of Texas but his great grandfather migrated from London. Roots traced his origin to the old Dranvalle.”

“The town Wellington lived in.”

“Yes and that was the place the great speech by Fell was made which was on Salvar’s day. That was the last Salvar day. I don’t know what happened but Fell wrote about a man called Dominic Anderson. He said Dominic had the blood and so is his generations. The blood means….”

****

Gumbo was tied in chains and pulled violently to the beheading ground. Pius wanted to make this quick before anyone stopped it.

“Sire, “ one of the court officials said to him in a low tone. “We did as you wish but I suggest you do not kill him now.”

“Shut up and the blame is on me.” Pius said and ignored him.

Gwen’s family members were happy that the slave who disgraced them was going to die. Gwen was crying hysterically and pleading but no one listened to her. They were now at the beheading ground and there were out three hundred people there.

Gumbo had tears in his eyes. He had hoped he would see his child, live with Gwen but this was going to be just a dream.

“I will keep our child my love and I will never forget you.” She said aloud and there was a dead silence.

Pius felt his head ringing. Did she just admit that she was pregnant for him? This was a blow on him. Her parents were more shocked. She had disgraced them. That was a slave and she allowed him impregnate her. If it was just lust and need for a strong black man, it would have been understandable. There were noble women who had used able black slaves to satisfy their s****l desires but Gwen was talking about love here.

“Kill him!” Her father said aloud.

Gumbo was made to kneel down and before his face was covered with an opaque sack worn over the head, he looked at Gwen for the last time and she cried. She saw those white bright eyes and he smiled. That smile was cosmic but heartbreaking. An image she would never forget in her life. No one saw her break free and run to the beheading spot and held him so tight. The soldiers held her and pulled her off powerfully.

This seemed to annoy Pius the more. He did not know if what he was going was worth it. She just announced that she was carrying his child. Could he still get married to her?

Yes! He would still get married to her because he never lost anything he wanted. He would marry her and cheat on her.

It was time to kill Gumba.

“I love you Gwen.” He shouted and the place became filled with mixed reactions. There were some who sympathized with the couple.

The soldiers held a very sharp sword, raised it and sent it towards Gumbo’s head with a powerful force.

Foop! Foop!

Two arrows pierced into the soldiers chest and he dropped dead at once.

Foop! Foop!

More arrows and people began to run away. The aches were set in strategic places and they only targeted the soldiers.

Pius looked up and saw some men in masks.

He had no doubt Timothy Of  Fishtown was involved in this.

“Come on, Pick  him and the girl.” Tom shouted and his men went for Gumbo and Gwen.

Pius ran away for reinforcement.

**** 

Isabella felt her heart racing. She thought what this man said was a joke but how are he joke with her?

“What is your name?”

“Farmon. I am a soldier but turned into a stable attendant because …”

“Repeat what you said.”

“After you left, master asked Rose to move into his quarters and they openly romance. They are getting married today. Everyone knows madam.”

Isabella wondered how she did not see this coming. She had respected her instincts but she never expected this. She only vut short her stay in Fishtown because she was missing him.

She knew why she had so much confidence that he would be there for her. She knew he had no one or any place to go. He even had no memory and she picked him from a hungry, homeless state to what he was now. He controlled the biggest financial empire in Europe.

She took him as her property and felt she owned him. This explained the dressing, the festive air around and his strange acts.

“Get me Gaius.” Yes madam.” He left and she broke into tears. Farmon came back and said, “he can’t be seen anywhere.”

“Get me Shaft!”

Again he went and came back and said, “There are only seven guards in the house.”

“What is going on? Where are they?”

“I don’t know madam.”

It took only a few minutes to realize that eighty 80% of the workers in the house were missing.

Isabella was confused. 

***** 

Meanwhile, thousands of people were trooping into the convoy of ship arranged by the sea. They include slaves, workers and soldiers. Abel. Gaius, and a few men were conducting the exodus.

Rose who was on board looked worried.

“They are not back.” She said.

“I just hope all is well.” Her mother said. “He really wants to save the slave.”

Unknown to them, Tom, Shaft, Gumba. Gwen and about guards were being chase by armed soldiers.

Then they got to a halt. Pius had organized another troop that waylaid them.

Now they were in the middle of the soldiers,

Pius stopped his horse and smiled.

Tom removed his mask.

“Mr., Timothy of Fishtown. How unfortunate you descend so low for the sake of a slave. Now, you will all be executed and that includes the one carrying a slave in her womb.”

The soldiers began to close the gaps when Gwen began to breath hard her chest heaving and she closed her eyes.

She opened them and they became so red, fluorescing and produced rays of light. She stood on the horse with her legs wide opened and her hands clenched into a fist.

What was going on?

She jumped down with a powerful force and charged towards Pius. Some soldiers fired arrows at her but she caught them and flew into the air.

As she flew, she breather fire and some of the soldiers caught fire. Tom and his men began to fire bows and arrows.

A few minutes later, just ashes of most of the soldiers could be found and that red shiny particles.

“I am Gwen, ‘;she whispered to herself, “the daughter of Joseph, the son of Dominic, the son of Anderson.”

She now lost energy and fell to the ground.

“Pick her and let’s go. They are waiting for us.” Tom said.

Isabella never knew what Tom was capable of doing. She did not know that while he was organizing those games and expansion of the empire, he was making arrangements for a new kingdom.

He had embarked on a one week journey t o explore in the name of business and he found a virgin land he loved. While he claimed he was conducting census, asking them to fill forms, he was actually trying to know their areas of specialties, and potentials for the new kingdom.

He also secretly recruited some of them into the movement and all the extra ship bought for business was also for the movement of thousand s of people.

He never trusted Isabella so he set up emergency plans. Now, they were on their way to the new land.

***** 

“Lucas is a descendant of Dominic and they all have the blood. Lucas is what I have been searching for all of my life. He has what he has no knowledge of but I do. Fell made the first blood , Dominic realize his potentials but there things I can’t reveal.” Ken said. “You will get the discovery credit and you will give me want I want.”

“What do you want?” Harry asked.

“There is a man called Richard Salvar. I worked on him. He is a descendant of Salvar and they kept the family name. He is very rich and feels sad that Salvar’s name was stained. He would do anything to get that corrected. He is based in Los Angeles. There is a scientist called Phil Jacob. He is working on time-travel. I want Richard to sponsor the trip and we will try to get the fluid.”

“What fluid?” Harry asked.

******